Feelings under the table
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: Post-ep for 3x18 "Take my Life, Please". Joe stays until everyone else has left, but Helen still doesn't want to come up from under the table. One-shot.


Joe stayed while The Club Car emptied steadily. Eventually, he and one of the waiters were the only ones left. And Helen.

"Helen, everyone's gone. You can come out now." The waiter stared at Joe, because he obviously had no idea that Helen was hiding under the table. Or he didn't know what to make of all of this. Neither did Joe. He wanted to go home, but somehow he couldn't leave without Helen. He was at least partially to blame for what had happened and despite everything he was her friend.

"Helen?" Joe asked again, because she wasn't answering. "Helen, the waiter probably thinks I'm crazy. I'm talking to myself and I bet he can't wait to finally close up."

"You said everyone was gone." Helen answered in a muffled voice.

"Well, the waiter can't leave as long as we're here."

"Tell him to leave."

"Helen, I-"

"Tell him to leave or I'll stay here." With a sigh, Joe got up and walked over to the bar. The waiter looked hopeful; he probably thought Joe was finally going to leave. He was in for a big surprise.

"Hi," Joe said and tried his best, most charming smile. He knew he had a beautiful smile, but he usually used it with women. This waiter didn't look like he would like to be flirted with.

"Hm, what do you say I'll lock this place up for you? I'm not quite ready to leave."

"Dude, you're all alone. You can be alone in your – wherever you live."

"I'm not alone," Joe turned around, but there was no movement from under the table. Helen had made herself completely invisible. While that was impressive, it was rather annoying at that moment, too. The waiter obviously considered him mad. Joe couldn't even blame him, because all the evidence was speaking against him.

"My… friend is hiding under the table."

"Dude," The waiter, now quite agitated threw the towel he'd been drying dishes with loudly on the table, "I don't care what's wrong with you, but I think you better leave right now."

"I wish I could," Joe sighed, "I swear she's hiding under the table." The waiter just rolled his eyes and gave him a 'Yeah, right' look.

"I am under the table and I'm never coming out of here if you don't leave us alone!" Helen screamed in a shrill voice. The waiter startled and his eyes widened. He stared at Joe as if trying to find out if this was all a joke.

"You're that guy with the airline, right?" Joe just nodded. The waiter considered the offer for a moment, but finally threw a couple of keys at him.

"I guess I can trust you then. Don't lose the keys and don't trash this place."

"Thank you." Joe waited until the young man was gone then he went back to the table. Helen was still in hiding.

"He's gone, Helen." Nothing happened. Her childish behavior began to get on Joe's nerves. He wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed. His misguided sense of responsibility for the people he loved made it impossible to just leave her alone. With a desperate sigh, he kneeled down and lifted the tablecloth. Joe wasn't prepared for what he saw there; Helen was cowering in the corner. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth in a desperate attempt not to cry. She must have lost that fight a couple of times already, because her eyes sparkled with tears and they were red and puffy. Joe immediately forgot that he meant to be angry with Helen. He crawled towards her on the undoubtedly dirty floor and found he didn't care. All that mattered was Helen.

"I'm so sorry for making you stay." Helen squeaked. It was that moment that she cracked; tears started streaming down her face and she tried to hide them behind her hands. Joe gently took them away.

"It's fine. But- you have to come out, you know."

"If I come out… it'll all be too real. I don't have a career, Joe. I never had one. I always thought I'd have one eventually, but the truth is I never will."

"You don't know that. And people count on you. Where would all the waiting passengers eat? Where would I eat?" Joe smiled to cheer her up, but it didn't work.

"Why did you lie to me?" Her voice was low.

"To protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me! You're not my big brother who thinks he knows best. You're not my boyfriend." Her voice broke; the tears just fell down aimlessly. Joe didn't dare to wipe them away after what she'd just told him. He couldn't deny that her words hurt – no matter how much truth there was in them. If he were honest, he always wanted to look out for her. Somewhere deep down, he still thought of her as his.

"But I'm still your friend. I love you." Joe finally dared to take her hand into his. He had always been amazed at how small her hands were. Even when she weighed twice as much as he, her hands had always been small and feminine.

"I really thought… I really thought this was something I could do, you know?" Instead of answering, he just took her into his arms. She surrendered to him completely. Joe tried it with comforting words and a soothing voice, but her tears wouldn't subside. Out of habit, out of some deeply buried feeling, he kissed her hair. Then her forehead. Helen lifted her head. Her puffy eyes were pleading with his and Joe was aware of his heartbeat. Of their close proximity.

"Helen…I don't think this is a good idea."

"Just for tonight?"

"That's even less of a good idea."

"Why? We have done it before. We're all alone and…" Helen put her lips on his. They were soft and warm and made Joe forget his best intentions. He held her tightly to him and kissed her back. When Helen started pushing at him, he realized what she was trying to do.

"Here?" He asked appalled.

"As long as we're under this table, the real world doesn't exist." Helen told him in that small voice again. This time he was disgusted with the fact of lying on that floor, making love.

"We have no idea when someone last cleaned under here." He told her. Helen rolled her eyes and the magic disappeared.

"You men take the romance out of everything." Helen complained.

"Excuse me? Doing it under a table on a floor so greasy that-"

"How would you know that the floor is greasy? It's dark!"

"I'm not doing it under a table."

"Well, tonight you're not doing it anywhere!" Helen quickly crawled out from under the table. A moment later Joe followed. She was still standing there, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She refused to look at him.

"What are you waiting for?" Joe asked her.

"You're my ride home." Helen admitted. He couldn't help but grin. Despite everything that had just happened, he put his arm around her shoulders and she leant back into him.

"And thank you." She said shyly right before they left. Joe again kissed her forehead – as a friend – and arm in arm, they went home.

**END**


End file.
